CRS In Action: Meeting Listeners Where They Are

CRS Day 1

The average Country fan listens to 56 hours of music a month; That's about four more hours than any other format. That was among the statistics shared during the panel entitled "Reach Out: Meeting Listeners Where They Are," during COUNTRY RADIO SEMINAR (CRS), which kicked off this morning (3/13) at the OMNI NASHVILLE HOTEL.

UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP's KRISTEN REED, CROWDSURF's JADE DRIVE, the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC's RORY LEVINE and WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE's ADDISON NUNEZ were featured on the panel, the purpose of which was to identify the Country music fan and their patterns of music consumption so artists, managers, labels and radio can determine how and where to market their brands.

According to statistics given by the panel, 51% of Country fans are female, and 11% are Hispanic. They also shared that 24% of Country fans get their music from AM/FM radio (55% of those are Gen Z), 19% from audio streaming and 18% from video streaming. The overall perception of why people of color, specifically Hispanics, are learning to love Country music is because of its focus on family and storytelling, which is indicative of their culture. Gen Z was said to be more open to diversified music, which has played a big part in the growth of younger Country fans.  

The Top 5 streaming services for Country music are YOUTUBE with 68%, SPOTIFY with 44%, PANDORA with 31%, AMAZON at 28% and iHEART at 23%. With social media, it's FACEBOOK 75%, INSTAGRAM at 49% and TIKTOK at 38%. Streaming represents 84% of annual music consumption. It nets 1.8 billion monthly active listeners, 94 million in the U.S. When it comes to music discovery, 15% find new music on radio, 66% on movies/TV, 62% on streaming, and 52% on social media. 

Artists credited for using organic ideas to get fans to help them market album releases and single promotions are INGRID ANDRESS and PARAMORE's HAYLEY WILLIAMS. The panel ended with the question, "Where is the Country listener headed next," to which everyone agreed, "that is the million dollar question."

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